Books And Guns

2012 January 27

Many people who think they can’t afford college should think twice. Many people may not know about all the options available.One of those in ROTC, it stands for the Reserve Officers Training Corps. ROTC is an officer commissioning program run by the United States armed forces. The Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines all have their own versions of them. If you are looking for college degree online visit online.

They offer competitive, merit based scholarships to students who qualify. Many times they will cover full tuition for students who enlist in their programs. For their investment in your future you serve in the armed services as an officer for four years. So picture yourself as a 2nd Lieutenant or equivalent depending on the service branch. Plus, once you earn your commission you will get to travel the world. Not a bad deal by any means, all things considered.

Not every school offers every program. For instance if you wanted to join the Air Force or Army you could attend ROTC at the University of North Texas but if you wanted to join the Navy or Marines you would have to go to elsewhere. Many colleges like Texas Christian University offer ROTC in one or two branches only.Most large state schools, such as the University of Texas, offer all four branches. Then there 6 special schools like Texas A&M that go above and beyond the ROTC norms and produce excellent officers. Check out army college to continue your education.

But that is not all. Maybe you want to go to public college with a military emphasis. There are a total of 6 military academies you can go to.  If you want an officers commission you still go through ROTC, but these school specialize in military education just like a medical school focuses on medicine.Two of the most famous are the Citadel and the Virginia Military Institute. Check out Trident, a military friendly online college.

The Virginia Military Institute is the oldest of the six Senior Military Colleges (which also includes, Texas A&M and the Citadel.)  While many colleges offer ROTC, the six SMC’s follow a much tougher code of conduct, physical disciplines and studies and are considered the most prestigious out of all of them. The big difference between these school and the federal service academies is that the federal school, like West Point, require you to serve as an officer for four years, these don’t. VMI was founded in Lexington, Virginia in 1839 on top of the Virginia arsenal and the Cadets fulfilled a similar duty to those of the Citadel.  VMI’s most famous faculty was none other than the famed Civil War General “Stonewall” Jackson. 

Then there is the Citadel which is located in Charleston, South Carolina. It was established as post of 150 men tasked with guarding the state arsenal there called, “the citadel.”  However, it was soon filled with cadets, who were cheaper to maintain and in 1842 became part of the South Carolina Military School system. It has had a long, outstanding academic tradition and has been listed as the number 1 public college in the South and is particularly known for producing Marine and Naval cadets.

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